Starling-machine



( M00181.) 3 Sheets-Sheet? A. B. SMITH.

STAPLI'NG 'MAGHINE. No 335,154. Patented Feb. 2, 1886.

N. PEI'EBS. PhomLimugm hun Washin tnn, D. C.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2. v,

A. B. SMITH;

STAPLING MACHINE.

No. 335,154. Patented Feb. 2, 1886.

Wiinasxes. 17221 12207".

hv PETERS, Fhulo-Lzihogmphur, Washinglnn. 0 c.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

A. B. SMITH. STAPLING MACHINE.

No. 335,154. Patented Feb. 2,- 1886.

li ifrzesses n/c7220? UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

A. BEVERLY SMITH, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

STAPLING -MACHlN E.

.5PECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 335,154:, datedFebruary 2, 1886.

Application filed May 7, 1885.

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, A. BEVERLY SMITH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State ofPennsylvania, have'invented a new and useful Improvement in Machineryfor Binding Paper and other Materials by the Means of Staples Formedfrom WVire, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in that class of staple-machines inwhich the staple is formed from a continuous wire, and inserted andclinched in the work by a single movement of the machine, and has directreference to improvements in staple-machines as shown and described inapplicationifor Letters Patent of J. D. Wilber and A. B. Smith, SerialNo. 58,487, filed April 17, 1882. My invention consists in certain novelconstruction and combinations of parts, as hereinafter fully shown anddescribed and claimed; and the objects of my improvements are, first, toprovide an accurate feeding device; second, to simplify the adjustmentto varying lengths of staple and thickness of work; third, to providefor the certain entering of the wire into the grooves of thestaple-former; fourth, to afford positive support to the staple whilebeing driven; fifth, to support all thickness of work by a suitableself-adjusting gage; sixth, to provide a positively-moving clinchingdevice; seventh, to provide for an improved adjustment of the worktable.I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a front view of the machine.Fig. 2 represents a side view of the machine, partly sectional, on alinethrough the center. Fig. 3 represents a sectional view of the head onthe line 00 m, Fig. 2, and shows in detail part of the feeding devices.represents a part of the feeding devices re-' moved from the machine.Fig. 5 represents the feed pin and block. Fig. 6 is a sectional view ofthe former-guide, showing the wirefingers in position. Fig. 7 is a planview of part of the clinching device, and Fig. '10 a side view of thesame. Fig. 9 is a plan view of the swinging cam, and Fig.8 a sectionalview of same on line 0041;.

Similar letters and figures refer to similar parts throughout theseveral views.

Fig. 4

Serial No. 164,683. (No model.)

The base A of the machine carries two arms, A and A. 7 through it andresting in suitable journals at each end the shaft B, carrying the loosepulley B,the clutch B", and earns B and B, and enlarges at its free endinto the head A containing the staple forming and driving mechanism. Thearm A" carries the work-table A supported upon the coiled springs a, andconnected with the cam a by the rods a and brace a. The shaft a of thecam a is conlever a. The table A carries on its under side theclincher-slide O, which reciprocates on the bearings c c, and actuatesthe clinchingblock 0 and hammer 0 through the rollers connection 0' fromthe lever 0 which engages in the cam B In order to guide the workproperly and in sure the position of the staples, the table A bears onits upper side the gage or guide A It is important in this class ofmachinery that the work-guide should extend above the table as high aspossible, in order to prevent ping over the top of the guide,and thusdisarranging the pack before a staple can be inserted. It is manifestlyan advantage, therefore, to have the work-guide so constructed as to thehead of the machine, thus obviating the disarrangement of the pack. Asin this class of machines the distance between the head and the table isconstantly variable, being greater for thick work than for thin, it isevident that the guide must adjust itself to this variation in order toalways fill the space. I prefer to accomplish this by making the guide Ain two parts, a and a, pivoted together at a", and supported in positionby the spring a. The part a fits upon the table and is secured theretoby suitable screws, and that portion forming the guiding-face for thework is serrated or cut into sections like teeth. The part a is alsotoothed on the front portion in such manner that it fits into and downupon a, the two forming alternate sections of the complete guiding-face,as shown in Fig. 1.

It will be seen that by the action of the spring a the part a isconstantly pressed upward against the bottom of the head A", and

The arm A has running nected by the hexagonal head a with the The slide0 receives its motion through the the upper sheets of a heavy work-packslipentirely fill the space between the table and y ftillows it in allthe changes of position of the table. The pivot a is so placed inrelation to the other parts that as the part a rises out of a it alsoprojects farther to the front, thus always keeping the guiding-facenearly or quite perpendicular. It is obvious that this guide might beconstructed in other ways,yet practically the same,to accomplish thisresult.

, A screw or similar device, worked by the hand,

, the application for Letters Patent of Wilber and Smith, before cited,and forms no part of this application. 1

The feed-wheel D is mounted loosely on the shaft d, which shaft isscrewed into the back of the head A and does not turn. The wheel Dcarries three pawls, d, which engage in the teeth of the ratchet d".These pawls are of different lengths, and are so adjusted as to givethree equal divisions of each tooth of the ratchet d",

so that a movement at any time of the wheel D equal to one-third thespace of a tooth of the ratchet d will cause one or other of the pawlsto engage another tooth and hold it. The ratchet d is-hollow,andcontains the coiled spring (1 the inner end of which is fastened to theshaft d, and the outer end to the ratchet 01 This spring-by its stresscauses the ratchet to return to its normal position after the release ofthe feed-rack, as hereinaftershown. The other end of the hollow ratchetenlarges into the gear wheel or pinion E, which gearsintothetoot-hedrack E. The rack E reciprocates on the bearings e e, and has the lug eon the end. This lug lies in such a position back of the cam B that thefeed-pin .E engages with it at each revolution of the cam, causing it tomove a cer- .tain distance and impart motion through the pinion E andratchet d to the feed-wheel D. The rack E also has a lug, e", on itsside,which lug. engages with a similarlug, e, on the block Eflwhichcarries the cutting mechanism. The

pin-E in its revolution on the cam 13* engages stroke of the rack E willbe increased in length to the extent of such movement, and will:

with the lug e, and carries the rack E a certain fixed distance to theright and against the stress of 'the coiled spring 02 As the pin E risesit disengages the rack E, and the spring cl then causes the rack to movein the opposite-directioni. 6., to the left-until its further-progressis stopped by the lug e engaging with the lug e on the knife-block E. Itis evident,then,that if the block E? be moved farther to the left thetherefore cause a. greater movement in the feed-wheel D, and necessarilya greater length of wire to be fed for each staple. In this way I obtainthe adjustment of the feeding and the screw E, which projects throughthe side of the machine,and has a milled head for convenience ofhandling. By the motion of this screw the block E can be moved closer tothe staple-forming mechanism for a short staple, and farther from it fora long one, and as it so moves the stroke of the rack E is shortened orlengthened toexactl y the same amount.

The amount of variation in thelength of wire to form a staple beingrequired to be exactly twice that of the variation in the position ofthe cutting mechanism, as is well known in the art, the relative sizesof the wheels D and E are made in this proportion, the pinion E beingexactly half the size of the wheel D. Thus if the stroke of the rack Ebe shortened or lengthened-say one-quarter of an inch-the movement ofthe outer edge of the wheel Dwill be varied just twice that much, andthe wire 6 which stands in the same relative position to the wheel Dthat the rack Ebears to the pinion E, will be fed forward one-halfinchmore or one-half inch less.

A set-screw, e, on the journal of the screw E enables it to be securedin position when the machine is adjusted correctly for the work in hand.of the machine,with a pointer, 6 on the block E enables the operator toset the machine for different lengths of staple very quickly.

The feed-pin block E is adjustable in ways in the cam B, and is held inposition by the screw c This construction allows all wear of the variousparts of the feed mechanism to be taken up and compensated.

The wire 6" passes through a straightening device, (not shown,) whichremoves the tendency to curl which it has received from passing aroundthe spool or bobbin on which it is usually wound; but it has also atendency to bend or curl sidewise, which tendency often causes it-tobend so far to the right or left after passing beyond the guiding-groovein the block E that it will not readily enter the grooves in the bendingfork or former F, but lies over the top of the mandrel F in a diagonaldirection. To obviate this and bring the A graduated scale, 6 on thefront I end of the staple-blank back to its place, the

two nippers or fingers F F are so placed in relation to the feeding andforming mechanism that the end of the wire passes between them. Thesefingers are pivoted at f and geared together, so that motion imparted toone will be communicated to the other.

The finger F has on its upper side the lug f, which engages with acorresponding lug, f, on the cam B, and causes the fingers F F? to closetogether upon the wire 6 as shown in Fig. 6, thus bringing thewiredirectly under the grooves in the bending-fork F. .Asthe,

bending-fork F descends through the guide F,*,;

traveling in the groove f the lower end ofjt I prefer this form,as itenables me to more easi- 1y give it a positive motion into and out ofthe staple, as hereinafter described. This curved supporter enters thestaple after it is formed, as is hereinafter shown, passing between thelegs of the staple as it lies in the guidinggrooves of the bending-forkF and completely filling the space between the sides of the fork. Thestaple-legs are thus practically incased in tubes of solid metal, andthe top of the staple is rigidly held by the bottom of the driverresting on the supporter. The staple being thus held. it is impossiblefor it to bend or cockle while being driven, but it will enter the'worktrue and straight. The curvedshape of the supporter allows it to stillfill the re maining space of the staple as it gets nearer and nearer tothe work in being driven, the staple sliding over the supporter to itspoint as the supporter swings out until it is so driven nearly or quitethrough the work.

The bending-fork F, to which the supporter G is pivoted, carries an arm,G, to which is pivoted the double lever g, the lower end of which leverrests against the supporter G,and is loosely confined to it by the strapThe upper end of the lever g rests on and engages with the swinging camG,pivoted on the driviug rod G The cam G has two faces, g" 9 which arealternately presented to the lever g, and through the lever g forces thesupporter G into the interior of the staple 9 or allows it to recede asthe driving-rod G descends. A tooth or lug, gion thelever g engages withthe raised cam-face g" on the cam G and causes it to swing on its pivot,as hereinafter shownl The clutch-wheel B is tight upon the shaft B, andis encircled by the ring b, which has a shoulder, 1)", extending aboutone-eighth of the circumference. The clutclrbolt b is piv oted at b tothe wheel B, and lies partly inside of it, the end of the bolt 1)extending enough beyond the wheel 13 to engage at the proper time withthe teeth b 0n the loose pulley B. The bell-crank lever H clasps thering b, to which it is connected, and is pivoted at h. To the lever H isconnected the rod 11*, which, at its lower end, is connected through thelever and shaft h with the treadle H The operation of the machine is asfollows: By means of the screw E the knife-block E is moved until thepointer e rests upon the appropriate figure on the scale 6 for thethickness of the work to be done. .This operation at the same timeautomatically adjusts the length of feed of the wire to correspond, ashereinbefore shown. The lever a is then turned until the cam a,operating upon the table A through the brace a and legs a, forces itdown against the stress of the springs a until it stands just far enoughbelow the bottom of the forming and driving mechanism to leave asufficieut pressure to hold the work firmly when the bending-forkdescends upon it. Power is then applied to the pulley B. The treadle His depressed, causing the rod H to rise, and thrusting the ring I) alongthe wheel B. As the ring b passes over the wheel B it causes the bolt bto tip downward on its pivot, and the end to engage with the teeth I) onthe pulley B, thus causing the shaft to move with it. As the shaftrevolves the pin E on the cam B engages with the lug e on the rack E andcauses the rack to move forward. As the rack E moves it operates thepinion E,and through the ratchet d and pawls (1 causes the wheel D tofeed the wire a forward and under the bending-fork F. At this instantthe lugf on the cam B engages with the lugf" on the finger F and causesthe fingers F F to close upon the wire, bringing it directly under thegrooves in the bendingfork. At this instant the pin E rises far enoughto disengage the lug e, and the rack E is carried back to its formerposition by the stress of the coiled spring (1 the wheel D remainingstationary, as the pawls d do not engage the ratchet d when moving inthis direction. The bending fork then descends, forming the staple overthe mandrel F, and as it descends opens the fingers 13 F by impingingupon the inclined faces f. As the bending fork descends the driverremains stationary, as is fully described in the application for LettersPatent of Wilber and Smith, before cited. The upper end of the lever gas the bending-fork descends is carried down the face 9 of the cam G,and by its action causes the supporter G to enter the staple 9*,

assuming the position shown in Fig. 2. As

the lever 5/ passes down the cam G the lug g engages the raised edge 9of the cam G" and causes the cam to swing upon its pivot, until as thelever 9 reaches its lowest point the cam is swung far enough to bringthe face g in the same relative position to the path of the upper end ofthe levergas the face 9* first occupied. The driver G then descends,carrying the cam G with it, and as its lower end reaches the supporter Gthe upper end of the lever 9 begins its travel over the face g of thecam G, and the curved supporter G swings out of the bending-fork as thedriver descends, allowing the staple to slide over it to i'tspoint,which is reached by the staple just at the moment when it is nearly orquite driven through the work. The face 9 of the cam G is at such anangle that the lever g,controlled by it, keeps the supporter G tightlypressed against the lower end of the driver G during its whole downwardmotion, thus affording support to the staple until it is nearly or quitedriven. As the supporter is held positively againstthe driving-rod G andcannot move any faster than the driver G3 descends, the staple can in noway bend or cockle/ which is not the case with thewell-known deviceswhere the supporter is held against the driving-rod by the stress of aspring or similar device. As the driver G continues its descent, andjust as it has nearly finished same, the part 7c of the cam G impingesupon the top k of the former-guide F, causing'it to swing back throughits arc until at the moment the driver G has ended its stroke'the cam Ghas assumed its first po sition. As the staple g is forced through thework the ends, projecting through a slot in the table A, meet therounded depression in the top of the clinching-block c and are benttogether. At this moment, the driver G having ended its stroke, the camB engages the lever O, and through the connection 0 forces the slide 0forward. As the rollers a pass along the clinching-blockc"and hammer 0they cause the clinching-block c to drop down from its position and thehammer c to rise into the slot in the table A previously occupied by theclinching-block c. The solid head of the'hammer c" presses the ends ofthe staple g flat upon the under side of the work in the manner wellknown inthe art. At this moment the bending'fork and driver rise, thecam 13 causes the slide 0 to reverse its motion, bringing theclinching-block 0 up to its former position ready for another staple,and the operations of the machine, as described, are repeated. If thetreadle II is released, the spring h causes the lever H to bring thering b back on the wheel 13, when the shoulder b engages the back end ofthe bolt b causing it to rise out of clutch with the teeth b and themachine comes to a rest.

Having thus described myinvention, whatI claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, with a staple forming and driving mechanismsubstantially as described,of a feeding mechanism consisting substantially of a feed-wheel and pawls, a hollow ratchet-wheel containinga spring by which it is actuated in one direction, a fixed shaft, and arack and pinion, all arranged substantially as and for the purpose setforth and shown.

2. In a wire-stapling machine, the combination of a feeding mechanismconsisting of a feed-wheel, a ratchet and pawls, a fixed shaft, and arack-and pinion, with a pin, E and wheel B, all arranged substantiallyas shown, and for the purpose specified. I

.3. In a machine for making and inserting wire staples, the combinationof a feeding mechanism substantially as described, lugs e e, and anadjustable knife-carrier, all arranged as and for the purpose set forthand shown.

4. In a machine for making and inserting I wire staples, the combinationof a feeding mechanism substantially as described, an adjustableknife-carrier connected therewith and controlling said feedingmechanism, and

means, substantially as described, whereby they both may be adjustableby a single movement, all arranged substantially as and for the purposeset forth and shown.

5. The combination, wit-h a staple forming and driving mechanismsubstantially as described, of geared centering-fingers constructed andarranged substantially as described to positively grasp the loose end ofthe wire so that it is guided and held in position to enter the groovesin the bending-fork after passing through the staple-forming mechanism,substantially as shown and specified.

6. The combination, with a staple forming and driving mechanism, ofgeared centeringfingers carrying a lug, and a cam engaging therewith,operating substantially as shown, and for the purpose specified.

7. The combination, with a staple forming and driving mechanismsubstantially as described, of a curved staple-supporter so arranged asto support and sustain the legs of the staple while being driven,substantially'as shown and described.

8. In a machine for forming and inserting wire staples, the combinationof a bendingfork carrying a curved staple-supporter with a driving-rodworking within and in connection with same,,substantially as shown, andfor the purpose described.

9..In a wire-stapling machine, the combination of a staple-supporterwith a lever and swinging cam, arranged substantially as and for thepurpose set forth and shown.

10. In a machine for forming and inserting wire staples, the combinationof a'staple-former, a driving-rod, and a swinging cam with a lever and acurved staple-supporter, arranged substantially as shown, and for thepurpose specified.

11. The combination, with a staple forming and driving mechanismsubstantially as described, of a curved staple-supporting device,substantially as described, so arranged as to support and sustain thelegs of the staple while being driven, and means whereby a positivemotion is imparted to same, substantially as and for the purpose setforth and shown.

12. The combination, with a staple forming and driving mechanismsubstantially as described, and an adjustable work-table, of anexpanding and compressible work-guide, arranged substantially as shownand described.

13. The combination, with a staple forming and driving mechanismsubstantially as described, of a table supported by springs, a cam andlever to actuate said table, and anexpanding and compressiblework-guide, all arranged substantially as shown, and for the purposespecified.

14. The combination, with a staple forming and driving mechanismsubstantially as described, of a clinching device consisting of ashownand'described.

15. In a wire-stapling machine, the combiproper motion is imparted tosaid slide, all nation of a clinching-block and hammer with arrangedsubstantially as and for the purpose 10 a reciprocating slide androllers, arranged subset forth and shown. stantially as shown anddescribed.

5 16. In a wire-stapling machine, the combi- BEVERLY SMITH nation of aclinching-block, a hammer, and a Vitnesses: V reciprocating slideactuating the same, with J CLARENCE GoLLINs, means, substantially asdescribed, whereby the J AMES R. MOYER.

